KEY STEPS

Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction
in Bangladesh is a women-centered initiative that helps communities in Bangladesh adapt to
climate change by addressing extreme weather conditions such as cyclones and flooding, as well as
the consequence of increased salinity conditions in agriculture in Bangladesh. The initiative,
which is implemented by ActionAid Bangladesh, brings together groups of women who lead
vulnerability assessments of climate risks and then identify action plans. These plans are later
implemented by the same groups of women brought together by the initiative.

The poorest and most powerless people in Bangladesh, women in particular, are the most vulnerable
to climate change. Parts of the country are subject to flooding, drought, cyclones and the
encroachment of salinity into freshwater sources. Women in Bangladesh are often marginalized and
unaware of their rights or how to participate in their communities; this leaves them even more
exposed to the effects of climate change.

The solution

ActionAid Bangladesh empowers women in Bangladesh to adapt to climate change at the community
level. Groups of women lead vulnerability assessments of climate risks and then identify action
plans. These actions plans are then implemented by the same groups of women brought together by
ActionAid Bangladesh. This community-based approach empowers women to express their needs and
increase their resilience to climate change.

As a result, improved cooking-stoves were installed in 110 households, 10 temporary dams were built to
preserve fresh water for irrigation and reduce salinity in the land, and a raised cluster village was
created for landless families in flood-prone areas.

Spillover effect

Scalability is a key element of this initiative, which channeled resources to the local government
to enhance its capacity.

The initiative facilitates dialogue between communities and the local government to ensure that the
good practices piloted by the women-led groups are scaled up.

The activity uses a model that focuses on building partnerships between national research and civil
society organizations.

These groups can then share lessons learned and good practices, which can then be replicated and
disseminated, increasing impact. Because this approach is flexible it can be adapted to the needs
of local communities.